UNIVERSITY CATALOG: 2024-2025

Program: Ethnic Studies – Chicana/o Studies Certificate

Program Description

Ethnic Studies Certificate-Chicana/o Studies

The Ethnic Studies Certificate-Chicana/o Studies is an online program that provides a solid foundation in the disciplinary knowledge, epistemology, theories, and pedagogical skills in Chicana/o Studies. The program focuses on educators who want to teach Chicanx/Latinx Studies in K-12 and community college. Chicana/o Studies is an interdisciplinary, complex, and dynamic field of study. This program focuses on the social sciences, literature, educational issues, Chicana/o theories and pedagogy, and incorporates community based experiential knowledge.

The program provides community college faculty with the necessary units to meet the minimum qualifications for teaching Chicana/o Studies in community colleges and provide K-12 teachers with necessary content knowledge.

Program Requirements

A. Admission Requirements and Application Process

All applicants must submit the following via Cal State Apply:

  1. A two-page personal statement that outlines the applicant’s purpose and interest in teaching Chicana/o Studies.
  2. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
  3. Resume or curriculum vitae, including references.

Acceptance into the program is with the approval of the certificate program coordinator. Students accepted to the certificate program should consult with the program advisor immediately to find out how best to sequence their coursework.

Admission to the certificate program does not mean automatic admission to any other M.A. program at CSU Northridge. Certificate program students must still apply to their desired M.A. program if they seek to earn an additional M.A. while they are in the certificate program. Some units from the certificate may be transferable to CSU Northridge M.A. programs at the discretion of the graduate coordinator of the M.A. program.

Out-of-state and international students are welcome to apply to the program.

All coursework used to satisfy the requirements for the certificate must be completed with a minimum grade point average of 3.0, and only courses completed with a grade of “B-” or better may be included to meet graduate certificate requirements. While taking courses for the graduate certificate, students will have demonstrated appropriate writing proficiency through written assignments in designated courses by achieving the minimum GPA to complete the certificate.

B. Program Requirements

CHS 500 Seminar in Chicana/o Studies (3)
CHS 501 Seminar in the Social Sciences and the Chicana/o (3)
CHS 506 Studies in the Education of the Chicana/o (3)
CHS 508 Seminar in Chicana/o Studies Pedagogy (3)
CHS 517 Advanced Educational Equity and Diversity (3)
CHS 518 Seminar in Chicanx/Latinx Literature (3)

Total Units for the Certificate: 18

Contact

Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies
Chair: Gabriel Gutierrez
Jerome Richfield Hall (JR) 148
(818) 677-2734
chicanostudies@csun.edu

Program Learning Outcomes

Students receiving an Ethnic Studies Certificate-Chicana/o Studies will be able to:

  1. Acquire, demonstrate, and apply content knowledge in the field of Chicana/o Studies, including the theoretical frameworks and pedagogical approaches, necessary to teach and assess student knowledge of Chicana/o Studies in California’s secondary and community college classrooms.
  2. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the interdisciplinary foundations of Chicana/o/x Studies, including intersectional and ancestral knowledge in literature, popular culture, sociolinguistics, social science, history, and education.
  3. Differentiate, analyze, explain, and apply key concepts, epistemologies, theories, and pedagogical practices situated in the discipline of Chicana/o Studies.